The Ginseng Hunter

Jeff Talarigo, author of The Pearl Diver, has written another evocative tale. The stories of a lone ginseng hunter who harvests one ginseng root a day and a North Korean mother and daughter who are forcibly separated during a famine are intertwined. Unaware of the larger world and the tragedy happening in his own country, the hunter listens to the tales the young Korean girl shares as he makes his monthly trip to Yanji. Her stories reveal the sad truth of what is happening across the river. Sparsely and eloquently written, the book is well worth every minute you spend reading it.

This book is available at the Newberg Library (www.newberglibrary.org)

Review by Denise and Rea

A Separate Country

Robert Hicks follows his best seller "Widow of the South" with another historical novel. Set in New Orleans shortly after the end of the civil war, General Hood arrives trying to forget the atrocities of the war and the part he played in it. He marries a beautiful and alluring woman, starts a business, hoping to move on. But yellow fever and poverty, lust and greed fill the city and Hood has to make some difficult decisions regarding his life and his family's.

This book can be found at our library www.newberglibrary.org

Review by Denise R